A distributed file system, such as a storage area network file system (SANFS) developed by International Business Machines (IBM®), is utilized for managing access to files and data stored on a storage area network (SAN). A distributed file system provides access to file system clusters (i.e., distributed storage devices) by associating each cluster with a disk device object. The disk device object is created by a disk device driver and logically represents a corresponding cluster to the operating system of a computer. The operating system communicates with the disk device object to manage access to the cluster.
Unfortunately, most operating systems (e.g., Microsoft Windows®), that run on a local computer connected to a distributed network, do not support access to remote devices in distributed file systems. For example, the currently available disk drivers (e.g., IFS drivers) cannot create a disk device object for a remotely attached storage device (e.g., a SANFS cluster), such that the disk device object can directly interface with various components of the operating system. More particularly, the device drivers cannot create a disk device object so that the remote storage device can interface with the operating system's plug and play (PnP) manager.
For the above reasons, the PnP manager cannot dynamically detect the arrival or removal of the remote device on a distributed network. For example, certain components of the Microsoft Windows operating system, such as Microsoft Windows Explorer™, cannot detect changes in status of a remote storage device in a distributed network. Manual methods have been implemented to allow applications executing over the operating system to detect a remote device and its corresponding status. Unfortunately, such methods are burdensome and fail to provide a robust interface between the operating system and the remote device.
Thus, methods and systems are needed that can overcome the above shortcomings.